Arizona Responding to Legal Separation w/out Children is a process that allows a married couple to legally separate without the need to involve their children. This type of separation is used when the couple are not looking to divorce, rather they are hoping to live separately while staying legally married. The process of responding to a legal separation in Arizona without children involves filing a petition for legal separation with the court. The petition must include the names and addresses of both spouses, the grounds for the separation, any agreements between the spouses, and the date of separation. The responding party must then serve the petition on the other spouse and file a proof of service with the court. The responding party has 20 days to file a response to the petition. There are two types of Arizona Responding to Legal Separation w/out Children: Default and Contested. A Default Response is when the responding party does not answer the petition within the required 20 days. In this case, the court will enter the requested terms of the legal separation. A Contested Response is when the responding party files a response to the petition, objecting to the terms of the legal separation. In this case, the court will hear both parties’ arguments and make a ruling on the requested terms of the legal separation.